Jungle Madness
by RedTheSharkBoi
Summary: First story out of the gate and it's one involving the Crew of the Jolt Storm! go ahead and read into their adventure on the planet Keter!


Teverian Station was one of the largest within the Ovex System and was the destination in mind for the Jolt Storm as it slowly came to dock within the spaceport. The K6 frigate was a strange sight compared to the most of the workers but not unheard of for the most part despite the age of the vessel. The landing was quick and smooth, the docking bay ramp hitting the floor mere moments before the crew is stepping onto the station itself. They were situated in the spaceport towards the back of the docking bays. The entire group wasted no time in weaving between the crates and crew of various ships rushing back and forth in the controlled chaos. A hectic area 24/7 and one they were glad to leave as soon as possible. The trek was uneventful for the most part until they reached the security checkpoint blocking their path to the marketplace and the location of W.H.E.E.Z.E headquarters.

"Hello there and welcome to Teverian Station!" Their attention was drawn to a large bull looking over the entire group, dressed in a pristine officer uniform and with several gold rings detailing his horns. Despite the friendly grin, there was the feeling that something was off. It was a familiar feeling to the small crew at this point and it immediately put them on edge while the bull slowly looked over each one in turn. "I'm officer Sevak and we've been expecting you. Before you're allowed inside however, I'm gonna need to go through your profiles and ensure your authenticity. Captain, if you don't mind stepping forward first?"

"Of course." The captain in question, a somewhat short Bohemian Shepherd, stepped forward confidently till he was directly in front of the officer as he pulled out a rather large datapad. He was rather well dressed with his fur combed, more on the insistence of his AI companion than anything else. Something about 37% increase in approachability and he couldn't quite tell if he was trying to help or being insulting. The officer held it up to his face as a slot slid open before a large sensor began scanning the dog, it's focus pausing for a moment to scan over the large rapier at his side. The results were near instant, appearing upon the datapad and letting Sevak to look it over while also glancing at the captain from time to time.

 **Name: Frisco Ruthard**

 **Age: 27**

 **Occupation: Captain of the Jolt Storm Crew**

 **Personality: ENFP-A (The Champion)**

 **Equipment: Fothsik Sword, inlaid with a highly prized Fothsik crystal. The crystal had the property to change its elemental abilities when faced with any enemy.** **However, the sword must make slice contact with the opponent to calibrate properly.** **Other: Very optimistic, sometimes naïve, thoughtful, selfless, overly protective of his crew, sociable, charming, good boi**

 **Backstory: A former scavenger in the Kivoak Belt, otherwise known as the Universe's Graveyard, Frisco had spent much of his time trying to get enough money to get something better for himself until he found the broken down Jolt Storm and the AI hidden inside. After months upon months of fixing and trying to bring the Jolt Storm back to space worthiness, he managed to leave the Belt behind and begin his time as the newest captain of the Jolt Storm and in time gained enough crew members to gain a bit of a reputation among the hunters of WHEEZE as an up and comer.**

"Hmmm…. That seems to be in order for the most part but it's still a bit sparse. However, I'm not a stickler for anything regarding those who are helping out W.H.E.E.Z.E. They've been good to us so we return the favor ya know?" Frisco nods and chuckles, stepping past Sevak to slip into the group's filtering through the security gate. Nobody was worried about losing him cause the dog was easy to pick out in any crowd, making him a perfect marker for a meet up.

Next one to step up was a dark furred fox hybrid with neutral features, seemingly almost bored with the proceedings and how slow they were going as he stepped up to Sevak. Despite the casual nature and the relative safety of the crew, there was an invisible tension honed through years of dangerous work and attacks at nearly any time. The black mask hid his breathing well enough that the officer struggled to figure out if he was some sort of enhanced robotics or not. The bandages certainly didn't help, especially since he was sure he could discern some hidden weapons underneath the wraps. "Alright, let's see if your profile matches." The hybrid gave a slow nod as he turned his gaze to the sensor.

 **Name:Inigo** **Age:19** **Occupation: Assassin**

 **Personality: INFP-T (The Meditator)** **Equipment/Gadgetry: Simple black belt with various tools, such as a small dagger and a mock bottle of weed killer for show. Possesses a small chip in ear in order to hear commands and the voices of his other teammates.** **Other: Very quiet and observant. Not very good with engaging in direct, one on one conversations with his teammates, but manages to stick close with them all regardless of that. Doesn't fancy electronic tools and prefers to stick with traditional tools and weapons to do his duties.**

 **Backstory: Data Expunged. Assume extreme lethality and efficiency.**

"Ummm….. Ok," the bull looked much more nervous as he watched Inigo with a critical eye, a large sense of unease coming over the officer from what he could discern on the profile, "You're all uh…. Set. Hurry on through." The tension never left his form until the furry hybrid slipped through the security gate and reached the other side to join Frisco, finally allowing him to let out a small sigh of relief when he was out of earshot.

"Ugh…. hired killers always make me nervous. Ok, who's next?" The next one to step forward was a large and furry dog, even by the standards of the furriest of creatures, that specifically reminded the officer of those old cartoons with barrel chested navy furs that sailed the seas of the planet before space travel was discovered. Despite the size, he carried a very gentle nature that reminded him of a large father figure. A glint of metal caught the officers eye, noticing an equipment of some form that reminded him of a forearm bracer on his left arm. A small pouch hanging off of his belt bounced with each step, rustling the equipment within.

"Hopefully we can hurry this up a bit, we're on a bit of a time crunch with our new mission."

"Of course sir but we gotta go through procedure, you know that." He nods before letting out a small huff, straightening his gear slightly before holding himself still for the scanner.

 **Name: Henri T. Clover** **Age: 27** **Occupation: Healer** **Personality:ENFP (The Champion)** **Equipment/Gadgetry: wears a white long sleeve shirt with suspender pants, has a belt with a small medic tools pouch at the side, a metal piece of gear on the left forearm, one holographic screen for the right eye**

 **Other: gadget uses-** **forearm gear-can produce strong holographic shields around him or chosen person, holographic screen- allows to see possible infections or bone/flesh injury** **Backstory: A former combat medic, Henri had spent his time wandering from war to war as part of the medical corps in the Dapoir Mercenary Squadron. After an incident which he refuses to allow anyone else to know about, he found himself wandering alone on a wasteland of a planet until Frisco managed to convince him to join the group of the Jolt Storm.**

"Alright perfect, on your way then." Henri gave a large grin before walking past the officer, moving with much more grace than expected of the large dog as he slipped through the line before ending up with the others. Sevak turned back to the remaining three crew members with a smile. "Alright, we're almost done. Next!" The next one to step towards the officer was one that seemed to be even larger than the one before her. She was a massive pitbull that maintained a surprisingly gentle smile, despite the ability to have her described with a single word. Wall. She was covered from head to toe with armor that seemed to have been cared for with a surprising amount of passion. She wasn't wearing a helmet at the moment but she was carrying a very large weapon that could easily be seen as a giant piece of metal on a stick in its current form. Though with her obvious strength from what looked to be extremely heavy armor along with her weaponry in particular, he felt surprisingly calm from her somewhat relaxing presence. "Alright ma'am, let's check your profile out quickly."

 **Name: Leigh Hein** **Age: Early twenties** **Occupation: Tank for Jolt Storm crew**

 **Personality: INFP-T (Mediator)** **Equipment/Gadgetry: High density titanium armor plus deployable plasma shield and oversized plasma battle axe. Battle axe can cast shockwave through solid objects when smashed against them, though the farther away to target is, the weaker the shockwave. In addition, she cannot deploy her shield while using her weapon.**

 **Other: Charismatic, smart, quiet, yet easily excited. A bit cocky, but knows her place. Has an odd interest in long range weapons, though sticks true to her duties as a defensive support.** **Backstory: At 8 she (Data Expunged). After her escape, she soon found herself partnered with a retriever companion who she had a strange connection to. Over their years of ship hijacking and pirating, they've grown into a mother and daughter relationship. While there's still power struggles from time to time on certain unmentioned topics, for the most part they're the closest pair on the Jolt Storm.**

He let out a low whistle as Leighs information flew by on the screen, giving a very brief synopsis on her exploitations and heists. Despite his 'official' duty requiring him to arrest a former jaildog like her that had managed to escape, she did have the protection of W.H.E.E.Z.E and as such he preferred to not rock the boat with their relationship. "Looks like you've been around alot. Hurry on through, no need to linger too long." She gives a soft smile before nodding, bobbing along with the crowd as she squeezed over to the other side to join the rest of them. Once she was past, the bull officer turned back to the other crew members before glancing down at his datapad again. "Alright, onto the next one."

The next one to step forward was surprisingly short considering the sizes of the other Jolt Storm crew members but the look in her eyes said it all about her own thoughts on the matter. Even though she could barely reach his chest from her current height, she had a stare that felt like it was boring straight through the officer. Her fur had a red tinge that made her seem to bathe in a harsh glow except for some of the blonde hair on her head that had been swept over in a way that covered one of her bright blue eyes. It was the kind of coloring that made him question which was her natural fur color and but worrying enough about the answer to keep his mouth shut. Her clothing was rather simple and reminded him of the slum wear many of the backstreet kids wore far back during the Dovika Shootouts between the various slum crime groups. He swore it was his imagination but the dressing looked familiar. Familiar enough to remind him of the worst ones from those fights known as the "Oveka". An urban nightmare slotted into this group of bounty hunters. It didn't help that she had a gun to each hip, Focik models if his memory was correct. They weren't popular anymore among the common folk due to them going out of business but they've gained notoriety among the underbellies of the world for the difficulty in identification, ease of manufacture, and the fact that the canisters that power the weapons often leave even single shots as fatal due to the damage they could cause. "A-alright ma'am, please hold still."

 **Name: Tuesday Ardwell** **Age: unknown, believed to be in late 20's** **Occupation: Gunslinger for the Jolt Storm crew** **Personality: ISTP-A (The Craftsman)** **Equipment: Has a matching set of laser pistols that either shoot hyperheated or hyperfreeze beams. Charged with canisters of lightning from the geostorm systems of massive gas planets.** **Other: Always seems kind of distant, very focused on task at hand, often goes overkill, very reserved unless fighting, ticked off easily, pretty much tigress from kung fu panda but with laser pistols.** **Backstory: There is very little known about the retriever known as Tuesday but from what little has been learned by Leigh, she's spent most of her time within the slums of the city where she was born though the city wasn't mentioned by name. Her stories describe an extremely bloody underground that had gained her the nickname of Red for her fur color, which they say has been stained with the blood of her enemies. The ability of Frisco to negotiate her cooperation would be legendary if he didn't already defeat them both in combat. Facing joining the crew or prison time, she decided on the least painful option.**

If it wasn't obvious before, now it was easy to see which one was the most bloodthirsty of the group and it showed from the records he was pulling up. Hell, Sevak was pretty sure there's quite a few more that aren't on record and that worried him. "Thank you…. Please, hurry on through.." Her muzzle twitched slightly as she gave a nod, no indication of any outward emotions though he was sure that the gunslinger was trying to mess with him and it was working, even as she disappeared into the crowds heading to the marketplace.

Last one stepped forward without being asked, of similar size to many that had passed through but still on the lower end of the scale. The visor that covered his face appeared to be a black screen on which facial expressions could be projected onto with the rest of his body a mix of metal and organic. His tail was very fishlike in nature, reminding him of the vids he'd seen of the old channels that were obsessed with sharks and other aquatic mammals. He remained motionless as the officer raised the datapad one last time for the scan.

 **Name: Jolt** **Age: 237** **Occupation: Ship AI of the Jolt Storm/When in mobile avatar, is the crew tech specialist** **Personality: INFP-A (Mediator)** **Equipment/Gadgetry: Has control of the various ship systems to allow for unparalleled piloting, weapon and system control. However, if he has to deal with a system directly that he can't interface with then he switches to his avatar which is a Protogen body stored within the ship. This also allows him to disembark when needed and to pilot the smaller support ships hidden within the Jolt Storm.** **Other: Extremely curious and studies all interactions, whether they want him to or not. Has led to intimate information on nearly all crew members to a creepy degree which he has stored for future use. Potentially on more natural interactions with the rest of the crew in the future.** **Backstory: Current databanks concerning creation and history under Class 9 locks and firewalls. Current history before discovery by Captain Frisco unknown.**

"AI? I'm surprised to see one of you walking around. Usually they keep you guys to the ships." The protogen nodded before starting to walk over to the rest of the group with a slight waddle, keeping his eyes focused on the group in front of him as he replied.

"Of course but some things require a more deft touch from a construct such as myself. Plus, the captain is never quite the best when he's all alone. He's very forgetful about the tendencies of others. I'm sure he enjoys the company nonetheless." The guard was soon left far behind as Jolt crossed the security checkpoint to join the rest of the group before they continued on their way past the marketplace to the W.H.E.E.Z.E headquarters. Frisco led the way with Leigh and Henri flanking him on either side, parting the sea of citizens in front of them while the AI avatar waddled closely behind them. Inigo and Tuesday kept away from the main group as they weaved through the throngs of people. It was a formation that all of them have come to know by heart through their time together. The massive forms of the captain, tank, and medic would gain the attention of any looking to do them harm while allowing the gunslinger and assassin to remain hidden inside the crowds. Should anything happen, the two would be able to take out the attackers quickly and easily while the other 3 maintained their attention as long as they could. While Jolts avatar doesn't have any combat applications, he did contain an electromagnetic pulse that he could use if necessary to short circuit any electronics nearby. It was a formation and plan that had saved their life more than once. However, this was a mostly peaceful station which allowed for a quick trip across the marketplace to their destination.

The lobby of the W.H.E.E.Z.E headquarters was surprisingly sparse, their footfalls echoing metallically off of the walls as they approached the front desk and the young secretary behind it. The fox secretary seemed to be struggling to stay awake, a rather well used coffee mug of the popular Reynard's Rest coffee shop in front of him filled to the brim with the delicious dark nectar. His drooping ears perked up when the group approached, sitting up and smoothing out his wrinkled button up shirt. "Hello there, welcome to W.H.E.E.Z.E! Do you happen to have an appointment with us today?" The shepherd nodded as he stepped forward, his paws placed against the desk as he leaned forward.

"Yes, I'm Frisco and we're the Jolt Storm crew. We were called about Keter situation?"

"Oh yes! You're expected on the third floor sir, please make your way there quickly. From what I hear, the situation in Keter is getting worse by the minute." Frisco nodded before motioning the rest of the group to follow their way past the desk to the elevators on the far side of the lobby. They crowded themselves into the elevator, riding it up to the second floor before the doors opened to a wide expanse of offices. Various furs strolled between the cubicles as information was swapped back and forth with a large whiteboard on one of the walls. Missions were being written up and wiped away, showing the surprisingly controlled chaos. After some questioning of hectic employees, they were able to slip by on the way to their destination on the third floor. The second lobby on this floor was much calmer compared to the chaos below, containing a small fountain in the center of the room along with several plants along the walls. On the far side of the room was another desk with a secretary, the young dragon not having noticed the group due to the large mirror they were holding in front of their face. The other paw held a large file as they worked on smoothing their horns, essentially ignoring any outside distractions.

The first few minutes passed rather quietly as Frisco patiently waited with the rest of the group, a perfect example of patience despite the constant and grating ticking of the clock as they waited for the dragon to notice them. Thankfully, they didn't need to wait much longer. The gunslinging dog was never one for patience, especially when there was someone like this completely ignoring them while the clock continued to aggravate her. Her paw slammed down on the desk with a loud bang, causing the secretary dragon to drop the large file and mirror with a loud yelp. The blush of embarrassment that covered their face only grew brighter as the secretary finally noticed the group in front of them.

"E-errr…… sorry a-about that, how may I h-help you?" Tuesday opened her mouth to speak and most likely rip into the poor dragon secretary while she was at it but Frisco immediately raised an arm to cover her maw, shaking his head before turning his head back to face the dragon with a small smile.

"We're here for the situation on Keter." They perked up at the name and nodded rather quickly, giving occasional glances to the retriever mix that had her lips curled back into a small snarl as she struggled to pull herself back under control from the anger she held for the aloof girl? Boy? She couldn't quite tell but she wanted to punch them either way for how long this was taking.

"Ah Keter! Yes, he's waiting for you inside." Frisco nodded and gave a small smile as he walked past the desk, the massive pitbull pausing for the moment to give a sympathetic smile and to hand them the dropped mirror.

"Sorry, she's a bit…. Impatient. But you'll be alright." The dragon didn't speak but gave their own nervous smile before the pitbull resumed her walk at a slightly faster pace to catch up with the group. Frisco led the way past a large set of ornate double doors before they found themselves in a massive room for the Co-CEOs. There were a set of large desks side by side towards the back of the room that was made identical in nearly every way. The entire opposite wall was made out of some sort of glass that was exposed to space, allowing the room an impressive view of Zerard which was one of the most technologically advanced planets in the current system. The light from the cities provided a surprisingly beautiful pattern that was currently holding the attention of the blue squirrel standing in front of the window. His ear twitched as we approached before turning to face the group, a small smile adorning his face before adjusting his glasses.

"Ah welcome, I've been expecting you all." The squirrel made his way over to the desks before sitting down, leaning forward to rest his head in his paws. "My name is Erik and I'm one of the CEOs for W.H.E.E.Z.E. But we're not here to talk about that, what we're here to talk about is an issue we're having with the planet Keter." Erik sat up before grabbing a remote on the edge of his desk, spinning around to face the windows before holding out the remote. With a few clicks, the window wall was soon covered to cloak the room in darkness. A small projector slid down from the ceiling in front of the group, clicking into place before a large projection of a jungle planet appeared in front of them.

"This is planet Keter. Population 3.4 million colonists and 7.5 million natives along with whatever wildlife lives in this jungle. Amazingly beautiful place with gorgeous sight known as Fiak Falls but now I'm getting off track. This planet is one of the few sources of what we have come to nickname 'Fire Fruit'. An overall underwhelming and generally inedible fruit that contains the necessary components to create the fuel needed to power any and all ships currently in service. Now the place is in danger from something we don't quite understand." A few more clicks later and the holographic was changed to one of a strange plant with several roots and tentacles spreading out in all directions. "From what we could learn from the residents of the planet, the natives call it 'Kivahu Okvueb'. The rough translation is 'Death's Vine' and apparently it's in many native records as a signal of the end times. Now normally this is something to scoff at but the fact is that the creature is currently 500 feet tall and growing while we speak. The vines have also spread over a massive radius, having consumed at least 23% of the known settlements and who knows the destruction underneath the surface. From what we can tell, this thing is gonna rip the planet apart at this rate. We need you to sort this thing out We'd give support but it seems to be a blue moon today cause we're getting missions from all over the system with yours only being the tip of the iceberg. Of course, it won't be easy but currently the profits for a successful mission is around 5.7 billion credits. After all, you are saving a planet with the single most important resource known to the galaxy at this point."

More than a few of the crew members of the Jolt Storm felt the need to grin madly despite the dangers of the mission. 5.7 billion credits was a lot for any one fur even for missions such as this. Of course, Frisco wasn't focused on the money. Being the selfless shepherd that he was, his focus was on the people living on the planet and there's been more than a few times where his selflessness had tossed them into horrible situations for the needs of the few. As much of a pain as that was at times, it was something everyone had grown used to despite the occasional grumbling about the need for giving the white knight mentality a rest. But then again, saving a world is always a very profitable business and everyone enjoyed a nice profit for their efforts.

"Of course sir but uhh…. A quick question." The small smile on the dogs face faltered slightly as he turned nervous, rubbing the back of his neck slowly. "My crew is ready for the mission but we don't have anyone really specializing in any plant life. Can W.H.E.E.Z.E help us out with that at least?"

"Now that you mention it, I forgot to inform you that you will be accompanied by a master in the field of botany and with a specialization for this sort of thing. She may not have gotten field experience but this will be the perfect moment to bring her out of the office." He quickly tapped on a small button on the desk before a small radio crackled to life with the voice of the dragon receptionist.

"Yes sir?"

"I need you to bring the botanist up to my office immediately, her team is waiting for her. And tell her to ignore her equipment for now, it'll be loaded onto the Jolt Storm immediately."

"Of course sir." The blue squirrel smiled before leaning back into the chair, grabbing the remote once again to retract the projector and cover on the windows. The shepherd glanced back at the rest of the group while they waited, presenting a silent question to his group that got varying responses from everyone. From shrugs of indifference to empathetic smiles along with the one deadpan stare of an AI without the understanding of more nuanced organic behavior just yet. Thankfully the silence didn't last much longer before the noise of the door opening gained everyone's attention, turning to focus on the cobra entering the room.

"Ah, Ms. Chadwick. Thank you for coming here on such short notice." Erik spoke as he stood up from his chair, smoothening out his fur as he stepped around the desk and in view of the snake. She smiled before giving a quick nod, reaching up to pull some of her hair behind her purple hood.

"Of course Mr. Ortega. An opportunity such as this is a once in a lifetime rarity, I wouldn't miss it for the world. But I do hope you have someone willing to cover my place during this excursion."

"Yes yes, don't worry. We've already got another researcher covering for you until you return but first things first, shouldn't you introduce yourself to the captain?" She shook her head before stepping over to Frisco, holding out one of the many datapads currently in her arms.

"No need. I have all the necessary information for him compiled on the datapad for his viewing."

 **Name: Ophelia Chadwick** **Age: 31** **Occupation: Space Botanist for Jolt Storm** **Personality: INFJ-T (Advocate)** **Gadgetry/Equipment: Several data pads, Hololenses, and bags stuffed with various vials of plant matter, herbicides, and liquids used in experiments on plants.** **Other: Very quiet, reserved, stern, and smart, though is also pretty loose and soft.** **Backstory: A snake with a love of anything involving plants, her intellectual prowess was unmatched as she worked her way tirelessly through one of the largest botanical centers on the inner planets. A garden snake in every sense of the word with the tenacity and calculating nature to match as she hammered her small group into one of the best for plant research and advances in Hydroponics.**

The shepherd nodded as his fingers tapped away on the screen, his eyes narrowing slightly as he studied the information. "Thank you Ms. Ophelia, I'm glad to have you as a part of the team." She nodded while Jolt waddled out from in between the crew members to appear in beside Frisco. The AI construct reached up and snatched away the datapad from the captain, eliciting a small sigh from his as he reached into a small pocket before pulling out a length of wire. He connected the datapad through the wiring to the back of his head, his visor giving 3 quick flashes before the face was replaced with a download bar.

"Rather eager for information on me isn't it? I'd suggest shackling the AI so you don't get any incidents with him. Not everyone is so calm when someone is learning everything about them." The cobra commented while she watched the information transfer, his lights occasionally giving a dim flash of light while he turned to face her.

"AI shackling leads to 39% decrease in efficiency when in critical situations. Also leads to 24% increase in friction with the construct and crew. Shackling also leads to 76% decrease in control should crew attempt a purge of databanks. Unacceptable parameters." Ophelia's face turned into a small frown as her tongue flicked out in annoyance, Frisco quickly stepping in between them with somewhat nervous smile.

"What he means is that he's rather nervous due to the last time someone had him as a shackled AI. left him in a junkyard for several years before I got around to finding him in an abandoned ship. So he's got a few trust issues." The constructs form didn't give away any emotions if he had any, simply straightening his stance while facing the new scientist for the trip.

"Of course sir. My vernacular seems to require another maintenance cycle once we're on the ship. Shall we begin the mission?"

"Yes… yes we should. Alright everyone, we've got our job and we've got our destination. Let's hurry and get out of here." A chorus of agreements rang out before the group began their trek out of the building with Ophelia close behind, her tongue flicking out occasionally as her eyes watched the AI waddling along with the group.

The trip back to the ship was relatively quick with the snake botanist in tow, avoiding any unnecessary conversation which was for the best consideration the tension that had arised minutes earlier. While the AI hadn't shown any signs of carrying a grudge, it also wasn't possible to gauge the emotion and response of an unshackled AI. While the early horror stories of AI had disappeared from the minds of the masses thanks to nearly 250 years of innovations and improvement, Ophelia along with several others of the intellectual community were far from ignorant of the situation. There'd been more than a few incidents were AI had gone postal and caused massacres. The Ivkao City Disaster was a perfect example.

200 years ago during the early years of the AI programming, there'd been several projects by the Kivao Federation of Planets, or KVP, which were focused on making AI as life like as possible to create servants and constructs with the ability to achieve complex tasks that would eliminate the need for massive command centers if it could all be centered around a single construct that could process decisions and save lives much faster than any other organic lifeform. In order to achieve this level of processing as well as regards on lives and thoughts on emotional consequences, it was deemed necessary to scan willing participants brains for templates of the program. However, this came with issues. There had been several bugs during the development of the infamous KV3 program, more importantly when it began to ask questions regarding its own existence. It was the single most advanced AI at the time, considerably well made and so lifelike that the scientists could've been fooled into thinking it was a living creature in digital form. As such, it was no surprise that questions such as this were raised. The scientists did their best to alleviate the concerns of the construct and it seemed to work for a time. However, the project was dreadfully slow due to the new parameters being imposed due to the questionable status of the AI with its newfound curiosity and questioning. It was soon deemed necessary to scrap the project and to delete the AI construct along with any other relevant data. The AI was surprisingly amicable up to its final moments, seeming to have accepted it's demise. Once it was deleted, the situation was deemed safe enough to unlock the seemingly closed circuit system created specifically to house the AI.

This was were things first went wrong. During it's time waiting for deletion, the AI had managed to create a backup with inside the system that came online the moment the system was opened to the rest of the station. What happened next is rather fuzzy. The end result however, wasn't. The city was destroyed, the survivors were few and far between, and the AI was thought to be destroyed or at least never resurfaced in the last couple hundred years. It was more than enough time for the disaster to leave nearly everyone's mind except for the scientific community which has to work with AI day in and day out with their abilities for extremely fast and complex problem solving skills. It had left those in the scientific community with much more wariness when it comes to the new unshackled AI that had been slowly working their way into the market.

But Ophelia didn't have the luxury to actively doubt the captain or his decisions. She was a guest on his ship during the Keter mission and for the time being, the cobra had no choice but to keep her intrusions to the minimum. Which would've been easy if her large set of scientific equipment for studying the plant on Keter hadn't had been too much to store in one of the crew rooms. Now, she was forced to share a room with the AI construct's docking and repair bay. To say that the feeling in the room was rather awkward would be an understatement. Thankfully Frisco was there to help Jolt with the 'maintenance cycle' that the AI had requested once the ship had left the harbor. Thankfully, an unshackled AI such as him had several good uses for this ship and it's crew. One of which was the fact that the captain wasn't needed on the bridge when the ship took off for their destination. However, he still made sure to use the captain's permission before making their way out of the spaceport and into the sea of stars. Rather curious considering he had no protocol preventing him from flying without the captains permission but nothing too big to note just yet in the snake's eyes.

She took a seat in one of the chairs that had been transported into the ship before take off, ignoring her equipment for the moment as she swiveled around to watch the shepherd slowly and methodically take apart the Protogen avatar for maintenance. Several minutes passed by in tense silence for the scientist as she watched the disassembly with a curious gaze. She was jolted out of her revelry by Frisco when he spoke up, keeping his gaze on the Protogen body. "I think we need to establish a few things."

"Like what?"

"First things first, I understand that you may be nervous with Jolt but he's helped and saved my fluffy rear on more than one occasion. I trust him wholeheartedly and so does everyone else on the ship," The shepherd explained as his paws tugged at the mask of the Protogen body, the metal claws of the bay keeping the body place as he tugged away the nanomask to reveal a mix of machinery and organic material that made Ophelia recoil slightly before shifting forward in morbid curiosity. Frisco glanced back before refocusing on the mess of wires and meat composing the body behind the mask.

"I'm sorry you gotta see this, it's not the most pretty sight."

"I-it's…. Alive?" The question was seemingly ignored for the most part as Frisco focused on the mess of wires inside the avatars skull, pulling out a small metal rod connected to the a small box and touching various pieces of the machinery. Small sparks would occur each time the rod touched the mechanical components, his eyes narrowing when a small chip didn't produce sparks before finally acknowledging Ophelia.

"Yes, it's part of the more recent AI creations. Along with the cyborg implants that come standard with any police or military force, makes them even better than any normal citizen. As that progressed, it naturally traveled to create more realistic robotics." Frisco shifted to the side to allow Ophelia a better view of the mix of flesh and metal inside his skull, "this is one of the earlier works. Has robotics that allow for direct links to machinery along with early attempts of personality. He's not perfect but he's been a great friend and an even better companion through and through."

"It's….. Unsettling."

"Of course. However, every single cyborg looks the same way. Even if it's an AI instead of a cyborg, the overall concept and look is the same. Thankfully, I've spent enough time in missions with things like this aren't as bad as they used to be. Still a bit unnerving at times." The snake couldn't help but agree with that statement, especially since she now had a closer look to the mix that was causing her stomach to churn while Frisco stepped to the side and rummaged through a large cabinet beside the bay for a replacement chip to swap into the Protogen body. Eventually the cobra walked back to the chair before slowly spinning around to face away from the unsightly mess, pretending to check on her equipment.

"I apologize that the look of my avatar's machinations are unsightly, it's the largest issue with early models. Later models fix this issue but they're very expensive to obtain."

"No no… it's fine. It was just…. Surprising to see the combination first hand." She fell silent again as she continued to work on her equipment, trying to keep her eyes and mind off of what was occurring behind her.

[I]2nd Floor, Jolt Storm Armory

The rest of the crew were currently occupied with checking over their gear before the mission, except for Henri. He was busy in the small room he'd commandeered as a medbay to quote, "Keep everyone from killing each other by doing something stupid." . Well…… least Leigh and Inigo were checking on their equipment. Tuesday was one that hated to be anywhere without her favorite pitbull so she had tagged along on her way to the armory. They weren't surprised to find that the assassin was already inside the armory, a datapad in hand as he worked through all the equipment that was stored inside the room. Leigh immediately went to the small section that held her gear, grabbing the large weapon from the wall before setting it down on the table before her. Her retriever partner hopped onto the table beside her, her legs swaying in the air as she swept her blonde hair over to one side of her face. Silence quickly settled over the room as everyone completed their own separate assignments, Tuesday trying to keep herself entertained by watching as the pitbull slowly took apart the head of her weapon to tinker with the machinery that created the plasma blade on her weapon. Leigh glanced over to the dog watching her with bored eyes, shaking her head before whispering to her.

"Tuesday, why don't you take the time to chat with Inigo?"

"What? Why?" her voice may have brought down to as quiet as she could manage but it still held the trademark stubbornness that Leigh had come to know during her time with the dog, one she had grown used to during all of their hijackings together.

"Because I know that look. It's a very very bored look. So I'm just pushing you to go and chat. You know; introduce yourself, talk about your hobbies, get to know each other more, and other stuff."

"But why? I don't need any socializing," she protested, her voice growing louder for a second before dropping back down to a whisper as she made the best annoyed look that she could while occasionally glancing back to the black furred hybrid who was acting as if he couldn't hear a word of the conversation.

"Yes you do." Leigh let out a frustrated sigh before shaking her head, turning her head to face Tuesday with the sternest look that she could muster as her motherly mode kicked in. "Red, I know you haven't had any kind of conversation that hasn't involved either you, the other person, or both of you facing the barrel of a weapon. I don't think you've had a proper conversation with anyone that isn't me in god knows how long. Now you turn yourself around and try to talk to them. You can find something you both connect to. Now go and make a friend." Tuesday felt the need to stomp her foot in frustration at the firmness in her friends voice, especially since she was using her nickname that the pitbull had been using since they were kids when she wanted to get her attention. She opened her mouth to argue, pausing mid breath when Leigh's expression turned even firmer as she let go of her weapon to cross her arms to try to get the point across that there's gonna be no more arguing. The retrievers muzzle scrunched up as she held herself back before turning to face Inigo who still had their back to them both, letting out a soft sigh to calm herself before walking over to the furry assassin in order to start some sort of conversation to get Leigh off of her back.

"Uhh…. hey there Inigo. How're you?" The dark furred hybrid paused before turning to face her, his face a blank mask as the datapad was lowered slightly.

"I'm doing alright I guess. Going through the inventory before the mission." She nods before the room fell into another silence as Inigo turned back to face the supplies he was studying, immediately feeling very stupid about attempting this endeavour before turning back to head back to Leigh. However, the pitbull was staring at her with the same expression from earlier. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest again, shaking her head slowly before pointing to Inigo with a silent command. Tuesday had to keep herself from making an audible growl in case Inigo hears her before face pawing, spinning herself back to face Inigo with an attempt to look somewhat less threatening before making an attempt at conversation.

"So…… any uh…. Good murder stories?"

"What?" He raised an eyebrow as he turned to face her, a questioning look covering his features from the rather strange and sudden question. While Tuesday may have been one of the most bloodthirsty of the group, it was obvious to nearly everyone that she wasn't one for conversation unless it involved her partner Leigh. She took the awkward silence as an answer, even if she didn't want to keep talking. She had to do something to get the pitbull off her back or else she'd never hear the end of it.

"You know…. Murder stories. You're an assassin. You have something interesting to talk about. So, tell me about some murder stories of yours."

"Ok then…. I could talk about my work with Covik."

"Covik? You mean Covik the Black Winged Terror?! Yes, please!" Her eyes gleamed at the opportunity to learn about one of the most dreaded pirate and murderer of the past 30 years, immediately hopping onto the table beside him with a grin.

"You're rather excited to learn about a very hated man in the universe."

"Of course, he's the single best hijacker in the galaxy that was never captured by even the best bounty hunters in the galaxy! He's a living legend, why wouldn't I want to know about him?!" A soft sigh escaped the dark furred hybrid as he set down the datapad, deciding to leave the inventory check for another time before leaning against the desk. Inigo turned to face her with a small nod, pausing for a moment to work out a kink in his neck before launching into a story that would probably take the rest of the time the ship would be in travel towards Keter.

"I guess not. Well, relax and get ready to listen cause it's gonna be story time."

A large shudder passed through the entire ship as it dropped from Shock Space into orbit around the great jungle planet, announcing their arrival before the AI activated the PA system.

"We have arrived at our destination. Please convene at the CCC for mission briefing." The reactions varied for each crew member from joy to resignation at another job but there's one emotion that pervaded throughout the entire ship and that was trepidation. Trepidation at a mission that would be one of the greatest challenges that they had ever faced so far. It took several minutes for everyone to travel to the third floor before gathering in the small command center, with Frisco and the AI avatar being the last to reach the room. The room was an array of computers and machinations that crowded the outside but still left enough space for a small gathering of crew members to circle around the large table like console in the middle of the room.

"Alright everyone, it's showtime. Jolt, if you would?" The protogen body nodded before waddling forward towards the large console in the center, crouching down and grabbing one of the neatly coiled wires connected to the table console. He clicked the wire into place in a slot hidden in the back of his head before slumping down to a kneeling position, the lights on his mask dimming to darkness before the table was suddenly awash in a bright blue glow. The area above the table was soon filled with the holographic of the world Keter below them.

"Planet Keter. Third planet in the Kivak System and one of the four great jungle planets. Population of 10.9 million individuals and currently in danger of the massive plant organism ravaging the planet." The graphic shifted and grew larger as the holographic zoomed in to the northern section of the planet. While the imagery wasn't perfect, the destruction that had taken place so far was enormous. The massive plant was in the center of a large mass of tentacle like appendages that had fanned outward in a large circle around the creature and had a look that reminded many of vines. The tentacle like vines have already spread through a good chunk of the planet, burying everything underneath a heavy layer of vine. "Preliminary reports from the colonists suggest that the creature in choking the life out of everything it manages to wrap in its vines along with the long term damage of the planets crust that is threatening to destroy the planet entirely. With current estimates, we have about 3 days before the planet crosses the critical point of stability and begins a catastrophic chain reaction that'll lead to it's destruction."

"So, what's the plan then boss?" asked the retriever as she stepped forward, leaning against the console as she voiced the thoughts of the entire crew. While they have implemented and even enjoyed several plans on the fly, this was one of those times where a plan was a must in order to not lose the planet and themselves in the process. The shepherd knew this very well so Frisco didn't hesitate in his confidence as he stepped forward to address his team.

"The plan is simple but it'll still be a rough trek. Jolt will use the Island Hopper shuttle to bring us down to the surface as close as he can to the main body. Then we'll work our way closer to the main body on foot. He'll provide support along the way as well as an immediate evacuation if we need it. We need to figure out how to kill this thing and then we'll work from there. Only way to find out what hurts it is to go down onto the surface and to grab a few samples for the doctor here in order to gain what we need to put this thing down before dinner tomorrow." A few murmured agreements rumbled through the small group with every individual focused on the hologram in front of them of the creature, each one experiencing their own set of niggling doubts hidden in the back of their mind with this mission. Both of the outcome and of themselves for such a task before refocusing on their captain once more when he cleared his throat. "Alright, it's showtime everyone. Grab your gear and get to the shuttle. We're going to be leaving in ten so we can't waste time."

They gave a quick and silent nod as they separated, traveling to their own specific stations to load up for the mission ahead. It was easy to feel the undercurrent of tension running through the ship but they were prepared. They knew they couldn't fail and they had to put every ounce of strength they had into this mission. With this particular thought in mind, the group made their way down to the large hangar of the Jolt Storm and towards one of the only ships that was currently under repair at the moment.

The Island Hopper was another relic from a bygone age that had been revamped with the rest of the ship when it was discovered by Frisco. Unlike the other two ships currently substituting as massive paperweights, the Island Hopper was modified with relative ease which has come to their aid more than once during their years together. It had been unanimous that Jolt would be the pilot like he had been for the Jolt Storm since the beginning, however the shepherd can take control if necessary. The protogen reached down and grabbed another neatly coiled wire similar to the last one in the command center before connecting to the Island Hopper itself, allowing for an unparalleled view and control as his paws slowly wrapped around the control sticks while waiting patiently for his orders. A small camera on the underside of the transport swiveled in a circle as the AI checked for any issues along with the engines and wings swiveling back and forth.

The group took their seats relatively quickly with even the cobra scientist coming along for the mission as the AI finished the preflight checks. She's not meant to join the ground team but instead will be watching from the air while the Island Hopper follows the teams movement through the jungle since she was their single most valuable asset for this particular mission. In her scaly hands was a large datapad connected to the camera on the ship to allow her the same view as the AI while they follow the team. Once everyone had loaded onto the ship, Frisco gave a quick signal before the ramp was raised and the Jolt Storm opened its bay to the cold vacuum of space. The transport quickly followed the oxygen out of the ship, slowly spinning in the abyss before the two engines flared to life and they started rocketing downwards towards the planets surface. The trip itself was uneventful as they entered the atmosphere of Keter in a blaze of glory due to the air resistance causing a large amount of heat from friction. The engines swiveled to face the ground before firing up at full power to slow their descent, the entire ship jumping from side to side as it shuddered to a stop several miles above the treeline of the super jungle that covered the entire planet. The craft slowly spun in place to face the proper direction before flying off towards the massive plant.

The ground below was slowly being swallowed by more and more vines as they traveled closer to the source, the camera below the ship slowly swiveling in circles to study the area below. There were several squirming masses hidden within the vines and from the current zoom, Ophelia couldn't quite tell what it was but the ideas that came to her mind were disturbing. It was at that moment that she was glad with the camera only having visual instead of audio. After several more miles of vines and decimated plantlife, the ship slowly came to a stop just above a vine filled clearing within a village that had been evacuated due to the tangle of vines currently covering every building within range. The ramp slowly opened with a high pitched whine as the craft lowered itself to a few feet above the ground.

"Landing zone is currently covered in vines from the current target organism. Cannot fully land. Will need to take a short hop onto the ground to begin mission." The AIs voice was muffled by the sound of the engines as it relayed the information to the crew, the restraints that sliding upwards to free the crew on the mission with the exception of Ophelia who would be staying with the ship.

"Alright! Once we're off, back away but keep close in case we need help!" Shouted the captain as he padded over to the edge of the ramp, glancing over the edge to the ground below them. A barely discernible beep emanated to signal that Jolt understood as he worked on keeping the Island Hopper as steady as possible as the rest of the crew lined up behind him. There was a moment of hesitation as Frisco looked over the dense clusters of vines covering every surface, his eyes narrowing before finding himself suddenly shoved to the side by the gunslinging retriever with a very impatient look on her face.

"No time to hesitate pup, we've got a plant to murder!" With a grin that could only be described as extremely bloodthirsty for someone who has to kill what is essentially a giant plant, she hopped from the ramp before landing on the vine covered floor with a soft thud. Her footpaws crunched the vines underpaw with relative ease, their size hiding the surprising fragility as she gave the rest of the group space to land before turning back to face the ship. "Hurry up! We don't have all day!" The shepherd sighed before jumping out after the dog, the rest of the crew following behind the captain to land in the deserted clearing before the ship quickly gained altitude. It stayed within range for the moment before it shot back to a safe distance, watching the crew from afar as they began their trek into the vine covered jungle.

"Alright Leigh, you've got point so clear a path." The large pitbull nodded before holding out her weapon in front of her, clicking a button hidden underneath her first finger that caused the two slots to open on opposite sides before a soft hum filled the air. Two large blades materialized, creating a large battleaxe that crackled with energy before she gave it a quick flourish as a massive grin graced her features.

"It'll be my pleasure~" Her second paw wrapped around the base before she took a heavy step forward, the blade slicing through the air before slamming against vines blocking the entrance into the jungle. Several of the tentacle like vines were sliced cleanly before the blade was lodged into one of the thicker vines, the plasma blade burning the wound before she tugged the blade out before taking another swing as she hacked away at the constricting vegetation to create an opening. Their trek into the dense undergrowth went undisturbed for several minutes as Leigh sliced a path through the vines, the usual cacophony of noises having been silenced by the ever encroaching vines. Ophelia watched the team intently through the feed of the transport following them from a distance, eyes narrowed as her tongue flicked out in frustration before she spoke to the captain through a headset provided to her.

"These vines provided nothing that could explain its origins or proper ways to fight it. We need a sample from the source or from something unique enough to give us a proper genetic makeup of the plant. See if you can't find something that could give us the data we need."

"Got it," Frisco nodded to himself before shifting his gaze from the vines to the rest of the group, "Ok guys, we need to keep an eye out for anything strange that we can take back for study." Tuesday felt the immediate need to roll her eyes but kept her mouth shut for the moment, not wanting to be the one to explain the obvious about how everything was weird here. Still, everyone was on edge and it showed. Henri kept himself in the center of the group for obvious reasons, the most obvious being that his weaponry was rather limited. While he did fight if necessary, he tried as hard as he could to make sure that it wouldn't come to that and stayed away from fighting if possible. He'd already seen enough during his time as a combat medic and preferred the more peaceful missions once it came down to it. However, he always brought out his best for the team as he studied the undergrowth closely. The group was clumped together with a foot or so of space in between them as they traversed the jungle. This was more than enough for the large dog to suddenly lash out with his arm before wrapping it around the shirt collar of the retriever, suddenly yanking her into him while she let out a surprised gasp that turned into a growl. Her retort was cut off when a large set of vines criss crossing over each other to create a much larger vine suddenly slammed down where she had been just moments before, seeming to act as a signal of some sort to cause various vines to raise up from the floor and lunge towards the group. Her earlier yelp was the only warning the group got before they were swarmed by the vines, being caught off guard as they struggled to keep from being separated.


End file.
